There was a faint, collective intake of breath. Damien’s lips twitched into a barely-there smile. Ashcroft’s smirk thinned, a muscle ticking along his jaw.
Kenji grinned, mischief bubbling up now that the heat was on. “Ane—are you actually with this guy?” His tone was teasing, loud enough for the room to hear. “Oh—Otōsan is going to flip when he finds out!”
Harper’s face flushed—scandalized and amused—as she jabbed a finger at Kenji off-camera. “No! Of course not! And shut up! You better not say anything to Dad—or I’ll tell Mom about summer camp!”
Kenji’s laugh chimed through the speaker, unabashed. “Who, me? Never.” He bowed theatrically toward the elders gathered around the table, then straightened with a wink. “But seriously—she’s not bluffing. Give her twenty-four to forty-eight hou
